Sentinel report sends Dispur scurrying

Sentinel Impact

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, August 3: A report published by the The Sentinel on its front page in its August 3, 2015 issue has proved to be an eye-opener for the State Government, which dispatched a team of officers to ascertain the veracity of the report today, only to find that the report has depicted the exact situation of a water supply scheme at Tamulkuchi in Jorabat.

After the publication of the news under the caption ‘Wasting public money: Dispur shows the way’, Kamrup (M) DC M Angamuthu directed Additiol Deputy Commissioner Fahkruddin Ahmed to take stock of the latest status of the Tamulkuchi (Jorabat) water supply scheme. The ADC, along with EAC Sujata Suchibrota, inspected the water supply scheme today and found that the scheme is non-functiol as reported by The Sentinel. The team instructed the higher-ups in the PHE to write to it stating as to why the scheme has been defunct. This is just an example. There are over 400 such water supply schemes that have been lying defunct in the State. While some of the schemes have been lying idle due to lack of minor repairs, some completed schemes are defunct due to lack of power connections, while some other completed schemes are yet to be commissioned.  

The work of the water supply scheme at Tamulkuchi in Jorabat had commenced five years back. The PHE department had committed drinking water to over 500 villagers through this scheme. The Sentinel report said that over Rs 1 crore has been spent on the project, implemented behind the Assam Agriculture University campus at the village which comes under Dispur legislative assembly constituency, represented by Congress legislator Akon Bora.

Now, the project site lies derelict. Meanwhile, encroachers have been rearing fish in the incomplete tanks and breeding pigs in the pump house. Most of the machineries have been stolen from the project site while the villagers are yet to get a drop of water.